Dubai property law changes 'may benefit investors'

New property developers in Dubai can no longer begin selling off-plan homes without paying 100 per cent of the land price, the emirate's Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) has announced.

They will also have to use a proportion of a project's value to get construction underway, Emirates Business 24-7 reports.

"Besides paying land value in full and injecting 20 per cent of the project value to start construction, new developers will have to link payments to construction," chief executive officer of Rera Marwan bin Ghalita told the news source.

He added that the new regulations are to be implemented in March, while a new "cool off" law that will give investors 15 days to decide on whether they wish to commit to a contract will also be introduced in the future.

The announcement follows a recent prediction from Vince Easton of property consultancy firm Sherwoods, who told Arabian Business that the emirate's job market is likely to influence real estate prices.